What are maternity wear essentials?

[daisygatsby]

I'm due in October so the majority of my pregnancy will be in the summer. I really dont want to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes - what would you recommend as essential buys?

[daisygatsby]

where are my manners?! Please and thank you!

[Autumn12]

I am getting by with a couple of pairs of maternity skinny jeans and a maxi skirt. Teamed with vest tops and pre maternity cardi's.

I'm hoping not to need to buy too much more for my remaining 3 months.

[AmandaCooper]

Yoga pants!

[Twinklestarstwinklestars]

I'm due in July and got a few h&m vest tops and have worn cardigans over them so far, I bought some cropped leggings that should last me, hoping I don't need to get any shorts as won't get much wear out of them.

[daisygatsby]

autumn thats exactly what i have at the moment. 2 jeans and a maxi skirt (tho the skirt is not maternity it has a stretchy waist band) plus a few maternity tops from asos and cardis from penneys.

even tho im going to be pregnant over summer - i dont see it getting so hot here that im going to need much else

[Caitycat]

Leggings (but I didn't actually get maternity ones just a size bigger than usual. A pair of jeans -I liked over bump ones from Newlook -in fact that is the best shop for all your mat gear unless you want designer stuff! A pair of black mat trousers for work, a variety of maternity and non-maternity floaty tops and some non-maternity cardigans to put over them. One normal maxi-dress that you can dress up or down.

Personally I didn't find bump bands useful but some people do so maybe wait and see if you think you'll use them. Have fun!

[daisygatsby]

caity im going to spain in june so think i might get a maxi dress for that and have had to get maternity swimming costume also (for ?20 - theres a sale on at mamasandpapas online if anyones interested)

[NeatFreak]

H and M vest tops (two for £9.99) are a really good staple- I'm due next month and they've been most useful. I wear them with cardigans as well as layers underneath normal tops as theyre really long. New look also have a good range

[Bunnylion]

Loose dresses, leggings and tunics.

I have some skinny maternity jeans but, what with all the cake I'm eating at the moment I am starting to spill over the top of the waistline so won't be wearing them anymore. Leggings, dresses and tunics are a lot more comfortable too.

A lot of my dresses are not maternity, just stretchy material, one size up.

[recall]

Also, I used to have a full length sleeveless black dress in a sort of t shirt material, I used to wear this with a really nice short fitted denim jacket, this worked well at night. I think it is a good idea to get things that pull back in under the bump, they make you look definitely pregnant

[HazleNutt]

I never bothered with maternity swimming costumes, normal bikini worked just fine. it's often cheaper to buy normal, stretchy clothes in a bigger size than maternity items - more selection as well.

[lockie1983]

daisy you sound like you've more or less got the basics covered there. I would add that Matalan currently have some lovely 100% cotton maxi dresses for £10, a size up fits my 7 month bump perfectly (they are non-maternity).

Other essentials for my (due in July) are leather sandals / flats / some sort of comfy shoe. Cotton knickers + maternity bras.

[Fairydogmother]

mamas and papas have a sale on at the min. i got a gorgeous baby soft long jumper half price along with a pair of jeggings and shorts.

i think i'll just buy another pair of jeggings and a few tops and hope that does!

[Snowflakepie]

You might be glad of some maternity jumpers as while you will be mainly pg in the summer, it is the last month or two that nothing seems to fit. If you like cardis normally then that will do nicely though, in my case I did get some longer ones as the band on mat jeans is minging and all my tops seem to ride up at the back. Tighter styles are definitely more flattering than tents and just as comfy.

I live in jeans so when I finally found some that stayed put, I got 2. Also have a few pairs of linen trousers as it is finally getting warm, due in 6 weeks. Vest tops with casual pre-pg shirts or cardis over the top.

My 'investments' were pyjamas! I have 3 pairs as they seem to need washing a lot, getting hot at night I guess. And it has ended up as a mix of long and short sleeve tops. Hospitals are saunas so short sleeve or vests are better I think. Also I have made sure that underwear fits properly, so new bras at around 20 weeks when suddenly I gained 3 cup sizes overnight, but they've been fine since. Pretty and underwired are fine if they fit correctly, and made me feel so much happier once my bump and boobs were separated again lol! Also got some bra back extenders from a sewing shop as my ribs are now spreading but no need to change cup size. Wait to get feeding bras until your milk has come in if you can, or some places do offer an advance service, but in my last pg I seemed to change daily until the feeding was really established, ended up with all sorts of sizes going on. It can get expensive if you find you change a lot.

If you know what size you need then ebay can be a complete bargain, there's not much resale value in mat clothes, but they are often hardly worn. My experience has been that a size smaller is often fine, so many are cut like tents. For example I would normally wear a 10 trouser in Next but my mat trousers are an 8, the 10s were massive. Or look for adjustable waists and you are more likely to get a bargain.

[Fairydogmother]

have to say that the 12 jeggings i got are a bit big and i havent been a 10 since i was about 18!

i might try the 10 before i buy another pair tho when my bump grows i might fill them better lol

[midori1999]

I've got loads of maternity stuff as I am also due in October, but am huge already. I have quite a few pairs of jeans, but like a Mothercare over the bump pair with elastic/buttons at the top (like you get on children's trousers to take the waist in) and these are the only pair I have that don't fall down at all. I'm wondering if bump bands will help the others stay in place...

I mainly wear jeans and a t-shirt type top (Isabella Oliver are great) with a non maternity boyfriend cardigan or a blazer or leggings and a tunic/shortish dress.

I find non maternity leggings/jeggings just fall down and/or look baggy on the leg if I have bought them a size or two up.

[runningforme]

Leggings! And a long shirt - worn over a vest top....oh and a maxi dress. None of these need to be actual maternity wear, just regular clothes, though in a larger size in the case of the shirt.

[gertrudestein]

What's your normal style OP? I used to wear trousers, fitted t shirt and tailored jacket a lot for work. I've found that gap maternity jeans are a good smartish fit, and up until about 25 weeks I was getting by with my normal t shirts and a bump band. The bump band has two uses - 1. It covers the gap between your tops riding up and your trousers and 2. It smoothes out any potential muffin top situation!

If I could have afforded a few nice dresses I would have done that too. Tried buying things in a few sizes bigger but they just makes me look really really fat (sorry to sound so vain) and still don't fit properly ....

I have borrowed 2 smartish dresses for formal occasions.

My recommended capsule wardrobe would be:
2 pairs maternity trousers in whichever style you normally wear
4 maternity t shirts
2 bump bands (one white, one black, I got them from mothercare)
Normal cardigans and fitted jackets
2 maternity dresses for hot weather
As many smart outfits as you need for weddings etc, but don't bother buying them til the wk before as you've no way of knowing what size you'll be!
Comfy shoes you can wear to work - not heels

I haven't bothered buying new gym gear - just used DP's t shirts, normal leggings and a bump band. Bump bands Jude a multitude of sins

Having said all that, I now have 2 months left and am running out of anything that fits ....might be time to bring out the tents

[gertrudestein]

*hide a multiple of sins ...

[elQuintoConyo]

Bigger knickers - my thongs just cut me in half
Not used to them, spent entire pregnancy, and some months after, picking knickers out if my crack a la Rafa Nadal

[MrsHelsBels74]

I've got a stash of summer maternity clothes, what size are you?

[Steffanoid]

leggings, my fave are from New look cause they come right above my belly and then dresses that are fitted ish around the boobs then flare over the bump

[BabsAndTheRu]

For all three pregnancies the main thing I needed was maternity jeans and trousers. DP and I cut a pair if his old linen trousers down and made shorts,,sounds awful but they looked really good honest. Never bought any maternity tops, used vest tops under t shirts, and bought cheap shirts in tesco couple of sizes up. This sounds quite frumpy written down but it wasn't, I look better pregnant than I do normally.

[Haylebop12]

I'm also due October and gave had everything off eBay so far. Few maxis, chinos, t shirts and vests. Pre-pregnancy cardis.

[CitizenOscar]

Long vest tops so they don't ride up - some super long ones in miss selfridge at the moment!

My best summer buys were 2 pairs of H&M maternity linen trousers. So comfy.